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Cowboy Charlie, Low Limit Poker Pro’s, and Prostitutes

I just came back from a few days in Las Vegas. It was an exceptional time. Met with friends, took in a floor show, had some great meals and did some gambling. The National Final Rodeo is in progress and Vegas was full of Cowboys, Cowgirls and a few tourists thrown in.

In the gambling department there are two things I really enjoy. Craps and Hold’em Poker. They both are challenging, need some amount of knowledge, and are a lot of fun to play. At the poker tables is where Cowboy Charlie made his personal debut.

Craps is fast, challenging and also a lot of fun. Between the Poker Room, the Craps Tables and my room was where the Prostitute entered the story. There are also a few assorted small stakes Poker Pro’s who are out there every day trying to grind out a living.

Playing Poker is unique to a Poker Room. It’s not really a social event except for small talk and banter between players, half of whom happened to be drinking at the Las Vegas tables. Because drinks only cost a tip to the server, drinking while playing poker solves two reasons people go to Las Vegas.

Prostitutes are not found in Poker Rooms. Prostitutes are found between the Poker Room, the Craps Table, and the room you are staying in. Cowboy Charlie is a rare event generally unique to a few poker rooms, but generally quite rare.

Cowboy Charlie is pretending to be Cowboy Charlie because of the Rodeo finals going on in Las Vegas. Other times Cowboy Charlie, might be Tourist Bob, Gambler Joe, or Bubba from the Gulf. As Cowboy Charlie he played a tired out, overly drunk, and generally burnt out guy who was killing time at the poker table. Cowboy Charlie was all those things, but most of all he was a good poker actor, and a better poker player.

The local low limit pro’s are fun to play, because they are always serious, sober, and overly consumed with the state of their chips in front of them at the table. Some of these local card sharps are very players, and others are really struggling. I was lucky in most games this feel, as mostly struggling Pro’s were the only Pro’s present. They are fun to play, because they weigh their options carefully before acting.

What makes local low limit Pro’s fun is they weigh their actions towards protection of their chips. They go into pause mode, make some spread sheet comparing their hand to the hand the opponent may be holding and error on the side of caution. It is fun to watch them act out their scene before they fold and tell the table what [they think] your holdings are. Of course they have only lost a small percentage of their chips in the process.

When it comes to Prostitutes, I am fairly open minded. With few exceptions, I think in Las Vegas the women who circle the casino’s gaming areas, looking for men rich enough and willing enough to pay them for sex of some sort, can not make a living any other way. While I wish they would find other work, I treat them with the same respect I treat all people with.

I also wear a wedding ring, and do not look like some famous actor, or for that matter, look as if I have much much money as I walk between room, craps table, and poker room. Not deterred, I hear such pleasing conversation as, “Hey, want to take me to bed?”, “Can I go to your room?”, “Want to have some fun with me?”, and so on. None of the lines are better than worn out pick up lines, women must hear in the clubs on a Friday night.

I am polite, and mumble out something. When they press on, I explain I am happily married, old enough to be their Father with a few years extra, and finish with the idea they are pretty young women.

When some of the Prostitutes press further it restarts to bother me. I gave a 15 second presentation on my morals, ethics, and state of life, and they go right over the top of it. I mean come on, trying to make a living is one thing, but playing with someone’s ethics, morals, and life state is a little too much.

I try to be polite, and respectful instead of being mean and derogatory, but too often it falls on deaf ears. Respect is a two way street, pressing someone to break their moral, ethical, or religious code is a serious life infraction.

So back to Cowboy Charlie the very sober, actor playing a drunk, tired cowboy. At the poker table, lying and acting is expected by most of the players. When it comes to the low limit ‘Poker Pro’s’ they put themselves out to be lied to and and cheated within the boundaries of good poker play.

This is part of the game of poker. When you run into Cowboy Charlie at the poker table, give him a lot of respect, he will take your chips because you aren’t paying attention. When it comes to the real life, each of us should respect the wishes of another, Prostitutes included. Respect for each other helps make the world a better place for all of us.